Posted on October 23, 2019

These Overland Vehicles Have Awesome Features That Cooks Will Love

The DIY overland vehicle movement has collided with off-grid living, RV goers and millennial van lifers, and the results are mind-blowing. The gear available on overland vehicles makes self-sufficient living not only possible, but comfortable. We’ve chosen five overland vehicles with awesome upgraded cooking features that we’d love to use, while living out the ultimate car camping experience.

Overlanding, for those unfamiliar, is broadly defined as an adventure based movement of self-reliance, which includes on- and off-road travel. Overlanders love to explore and take everything including the kitchen sink with them.

These Overland Vehicles Have Awesome Features That Cooks Will Love

Overland Car Kitchen

1) Dedicated space in the back of your vehicle, especially completely flat space that can be used for prep area, is the best bet for a kitchen set up. If possible, we recommend creating a slide-out kitchen setup. Check out this legendary overland vehicle, the Toyota 4Runner, and it’s custom fit “slide-out truck kitchen”. You can choose from a lot of optional features to ensure you have all the kitchen conveniences your heart desires. Options include a sink with running water, a compact refrigerator, LED lighting, USB charging ports, a magnetic paper towel holder, and pre-cut organizational foam inserts for drawers. Plus, it all runs on its own battery powered electrical system, separate from the car’s, which includes its own dedicated charging system.

2) Land Rover is a renowned British car company that has been making overland vehicles since they were still called Safari trucks. Professional chef Jamie Oliver commissioned the company to make this high-end, completely customized, ultimate car kitchen. This is certainly a very spendy customization that falls squarely in the ‘bucket list’ category of overland vehicle upgrades. But it is definitely fun to look at, and maybe you can snag some design ideas from their build, and implement them into your own custom kitchen in the future.

3) For any SUV, Jeep or Subaru looking for an upgrade, there’s a company called Trail Kitchens, which produces a nice slide-out storage system called the Wrangler. The Wrangler Camping Kitchen System can also be used with 4Runners or Land Rovers. It packs a lot of versatility into its aluminum and stainless steel package. Weighing in at just about 100 lbs, it includes a 6-gallon water system with pump, faucet, LED lighting, free-standing work table with drawers, hanging storage, and two flip-out prep surfaces. Add a stove to the mix for an ultimate car cooking setup.

4) Jeeps have a well-earned reputation for being rugged, reliable overland vehicles. But, they also leave you with a smaller amount of cargo space to work with. Building around one or more of these Toughbox storage containers gives you some surface area for prep work, helps organize and limit your kitchen supplies, and can easily be removed and used in your campsite for waterproof food storage and extra seating in a pinch.

5) The Ford Excursion is a huge SUV and one of the most popular overland vehicles out there. Your best bet for Excursion reliability is to aim for the 2000-2003 models. All of the extra cargo space in the Excursion means that you can set up a larger DIY camp kitchen. Save money by utilizing things like a Primus stove and REI kitchen accessories. Here’s an all-in-one-outdoor-kitchen setup that will only take up a fraction of the vehicle's cargo space. This leaves you with plenty of space for additional kitchen upgrades, or more storage space when traveling with friends and family.

Finding The Right Overland Vehicle For You

Overland vehicle

You can use almost any vehicle for overland travel, but to save money on the car or truck so you’ll have more leftover for accessories, you should research and know the prices of the best pre-owned models on the market. The great ones, like many Toyota models (we love 4Runners) will disappear from the used market within a day or two of posting, so you’ll need an eagle eye (or Google alerts) to snag them up before they’re gone.

Don’t skimp on that kitchen space though. A well-stocked kitchen is an overlander's second most important feature, besides safety gear (like extra gasoline and water), because cooking is a reliable way to bring a welcomed slice of comfort and civilization into the wilderness.